“I want us to be happy about the weather. I don't know whether something's happened to meteorologists to make you all a little bit fatalistic and harbingers of doom,” asks GB News presenter.
“Because I think there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of excess deaths. It will be brutal,” replies meteorologist and weather forecaster John Hammond with the kind of honesty that tends to ruin the ‘isn’t this lovely weather’ narrative.
Every time the UK experiences another spell of extreme heat, I end up sharing this clip, because it captures a recurring feature of climate communication. Scientists describe a dangerous and increasingly abnormal event, while much of the public discussion revolves around whether we should simply enjoy the sunny weather while it lasts.
This exchange took place during the July 2022 heatwave when UK temperatures exceeded 40°C (104°F) for the first time on record, something the Met Office described as “virtually impossible” without human‐driven climate change.
And now we are here again. Over the next couple of days, ‘extraordinary’ heat is putting the UK on course to challenge its hottest June day on record.
What we used to call extraordinary is becoming increasingly familiar, and the warnings we once treated as dramatic are gradually being relabelled as ‘summer.’
But sure … “nice weather.”
Thank you for reading The Climate Historian. If you value this article or any others, please share and consider subscribing or buying a virtual coffee. I am grateful to those who already support my work — without you, this site could not exist.
ind of honesty that tends to ruin the ‘isn’t this lovely weather’ narrative.
Every time the UK experiences another spell of extreme heat, I end up sharing this clip, because it captures a recurring feature of climate communication. Scientists describe a dangerous and increasingly abnormal event, while much of the public discussion revolves around whether we should simply enjoy the sunny weather while it lasts.
This exchange took place during the July 2022 heatwave when UK temperatures exceeded 40°C (104°F) for the first time on record, something the Met Office described as “virtually impossible” without human‐driven climate change.
And now we are here again. Over the next couple of days, ‘extraordinary’ heat is putting the UK on course to challenge its hottest June day on record.
What we used to call extraordinary is becoming increasingly familiar, and the warnings we once treated as dramatic are gradually being relabelled as ‘summer.’
But sure … “nice weather.”
Thank you for reading The Climate Historian. If you value this article or any others, please share and consider subscribing or buying a virtual coffee. I am grateful to those who already support my work — without you, this site could not exist.
Humans are infinitely able to adapt but very poor at pre-empting or making the connection - same in Australia when the Murray Darling river basin ran dry or the vast wild fires that killed billions of animals. But still mass mobilised resistance to any mention of a carbon tax or restriction on coal.
Is this the sorry conclusion to be drawn to this latest heatwave in the UK as we coast past 1.5 degrees global heating onto 1.7 degrees (several times faster at the poles where global temperatures are set) ?
But sure the weather is still lovely, if a little hot......